Abu Dhabi: The Arabian Gulf League lit up on Saturday with the clash between last year’s runner-up Al Wasl and Al Ain.
After a tooth and nail battle, there couldn’t have been a better result than a 2-2 draw. The contest also sending in a strong message that this year’s battle for title will be more intriguing.
Al Ain coach Zoran Mamic, who was forced to see the proceeding from the stands following a two-match ban, would have been more than happy with the result. Especially for the spirit shown by the players as they came into the contest after a heartbreaking 3-0 loss in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals to Saudi’s Al Hilal.
The biggest plus was the form of his forwards, who had struggled against Hilal. Both Brazilians Caio and Douglas gelled well and so did Swedish recruit Marcus Berg, who provided the home team with an early goal. Douglas has struggled in front of the goal but having got among the scorers, his burden would have eased. Al Ain’s Japanese recruit Tsukasa Shiotani also proved that he can be threatening when pressed forward to take an attacking role.
Skipper Omar Abdul Rahman as always maintained the intensity all throughout and gave evidence that he has put the Champions League setback behind quickly.
“We played well and deserved to win the match but there were few mistakes which didn’t allow us to get the desired result. In the end, we had to accept the draw. However, this is the beginning of this tournament and we will try to do our best in the coming matches,” said Abdul Rahman, who accepted that AFC Champions League setback was a hard pill for the boys to swallow so the character they showed in this match was appreciable.
“Champions League loss was a blow but we as professionals know that this is football. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The boys showed today they have put AFC loss behind and are looking forward which is a great sign for the season ahead,” added Abdul Rahman.
Al Ain assistant coach Ahmed Abdullah was of the view that the result was a satisfactory one considering the technical level shown by the two teams.
“We played the match at good level and also created chances in front of the goal. We will be going through the match video to try and analyse where we need to improve ahead of the next match,” said Abdullah.
For Al Wasl, this season’s challenge is all about going that one step further to lift the coveted trophy. Under Rodolfo Arruabarrena they took some giant strides and the opening clash where they rallied twice from behind speak volumes of the team’s ability to rise to crunch situations.
Their Brazilians Caio and Fabio De Lima showed there are in best of shape and have tremendous speed and agility to stun the best in business. De Lima’s side volley to draw level (2-2) was an absolute blinder and would have made everyone sit back and applaud in awe.
“It would have been a fun match for everyone watching. The teams shared the goals, points and control throughout the game. We played a great team Al Ain. Their level is high and have some outstanding players. Though we played well we have to improve, modify and correct the mistakes, which I felt was not tactical but individual,” said Arruabarrena, who was hoping that the injury to his goalkeeper Yousef Al Zaabi was not serious and that he would be available for next match.
“Injury of Al Zaabi is unfortunate and it made us take the help of Sultan Al Manthari and he did pretty well. However, we would like to have Al Zaabi back quickly. I wish him a speedy recovery,” added Arruabarrena.
